Bishop Gorman High School, Nevada’s big-schools state champion, took another shot at winning a game in the fifth annual Sollenberger Classic in Flagstaff over the weekend. But Hamilton High School, […]

After the various first-team and second-team football selections have been made, it's time for the Arizona Football Coaches Association to select its "Big 25" team. And this year, a couple of schools picked up the lion's share of selections.

It's an old axiom that "offense fills the seats, but defense wins championships." The Hamilton High School Huskies managed to take care of both ends of the equation in winning the 5A-I Arizona football championship.

Marcos de Niza HS put up the big stats in the first half, 213 yards of offense and almost 15 minutes on offense, but it was the Chaparral HS Firebirds that held the state 5A-II football championship trophy at the end of the game. We expected the emotional factor would play heavily into the results last night, since the Padres have been stopped at the semi-finals for three of the past four years and finally had their chance at a state title. Besides, they were coming off a huge win over nationally-ranked Centennial HS. But maybe they were too high coming into this game. Marcos committed 16 penalties for 186 yards and coughed up the ball on two turnovers - one of which was a fumbled snap by QB Zach Schira in his end zone, quickly recovered by Chaparral linebacker Chris Fox for a touchdown. That was just the first score as the Firebirds began to turn the momentum after being down 7-0, as the Firebirds went on to a 34-21 win. Senior running back Dwayne Garrett led the Firebird charge with 107 yards, but it was sophomore QB Connor Brewer that controlled the outcome, going 6-for-9 for 147 yards and a score. But it was his poise and composure under pressure that spelled the difference; he had zero turnovers. On the other hand, Schira is a senior and we had expected that factor to be the edge for Marcos, but he finished the night completing less than a third of his passes for just 66 yards. We were looking for the upset Marcos win and, for the first half of the game, it still seemed likely. But Chaparral played the kind of game it takes to win a championship... and Marcos de Niza regroups for still another try next year to bring home the trophy. The Firebirds were playing in 4A-I last year, but the move up to 5A-I hasn't caused them to skip a beat, and they certainly proved they belong there. But the Padres don't leave the 2009 season empty-handed. They had a school-record 12-1 mark, ended Centennial's 39-game win streak, and made it to the finals for the first time in 38 years. Not a bad year.(click here to comment on this article)

Hamilton High School is heavily favored to win tonight's 5A-I championship football game, by as many as three touchdowns according to some, and one of the obvious reasons has to do with the fact that the Huskies have already beaten Mesa HS, 43-22, in early November. However, that may actually be one of the reasons the Jackrabbits have a shot at upsetting Hamilton's plans for a second consecutive state title. Mesa was beaten earlier in the season by region powerhouse, Brophy Prep - and then came back to turn the tables on the Broncos in the state quarterfinals, holding the Broncos to just 3 points. The question is, can the Jackrabbits build a game plan, based on what they learned in the first loss, to contain Hamilton's two 1,000-yard running backs, Zach Bauman and Michael Allen? But Hamilton will make its own adjustments, something the Huskies have had to do already this season. They beat Chandler HS earlier in the season, 24-20, and then came back in the semi-finals to make it 2-for-2 with a 49-21 win over the Wolves, to earn the title shot again. Tonight's game will be like a chess match, as each team tries to make the right moves. Hamilton brings in the offensive firepower that has piled up 615 points this season, while Mesa tries to counter with a stiff defense that has held opponents to a touchdown or less in seven games. Hamilton will likely get to check mate first, but Mesa is a team playing against the odds, with nothing to lose and everything to gain. And those are always the most dangerous kinds of opponents.(click here to comment on this article)

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